If you’re suffering from food poisoning, it’s best to let it run its course rather than clogging yourself up with Imodium, but there are some situations where it just isn’t possible to do so. I’m talking flights, long bus journeys, booked tours, and anything that requires you to leave the bathroom. A large supply of Imodium is something I always have in my backpack for these emergencies.
“When there are problems with the flight, most people start out annoyed or even hostile. If I tell the agents what a great job they’re doing and how I admire their patience, they'll often go to extraordinary lengths for me,” says motivational speaker Barry Maher. “I once had a gate agent spend 45 minutes to get me rebooked on another airline. Then she called the gate, grabbed one of my carry-ons and ran with me to security. When I got to the gate, the agent bumped me into first class.”
This sunny region along the state’s southern coast is California’s most populated region, best known as the capital of the entertainment industry. Here, movie stars really do work in Hollywood, play in the surf at Malibu, and shop in Beverly Hills. Looping freeways make the car king, but the region also has a surprisingly good network of buses and light rail—a hassle-free way to explore.
Step 2: Fill empty bottles with your favorite brands. Evelyn Hannon, creator of journeywoman.com, a travel-advice website, swears by Japonesque’s Gotta Go Weekend Travel Bag ($20, amazon.com). A mere four inches high by four inches wide, it’s stocked with eight clear containers for lotions, contact-lens solution, and the like. Fill them three-quarters full. “The storage department on a plane is not pressurized, so items filled all the way to the top will overflow,” says Bond, who learned that the hard way when a sample of Pepto-Bismol exploded all over her clothes.
Another thing! as well as the earplugs, I would definetely suggest the sleeping mask, for those who can´t sleep unless everything is really dark, and I find it difficult to sleep on planes with the lights they keep on during the flight (I need total darkness) and this is very useful for hostels or dorms where there is always somebody turning on the lights while you are sleeping…
Careful planning is the secret to every successful trip, and work travel is no different. It’s actually even more important to be uber-prepared when you have the eyes of your boss and co-workers on you. So map out the route to the hotel and double-check the dates on your rental car reservation. Bring an extra alarm so that you don’t miss your flight or show up 20 minutes late to your meeting. Try to carry on your luggage so that your bags don't end up in Anchorage when you're headed to Atlanta.

Congratulations- you’ve just been assigned your first business trip! While you may be thrilled for an exciting adventure, how do you make the trip go smoothly, from ticket booking to expense report submission? Mastering the art of successful business travel can be daunting, and first-time travelers may be intimidated by a new environment and daily routine disruption. While business trips come with new protocol and unspoken rules, enjoy them with these 10 travel tips.

I flew business class with Ethiad (CPH-SIN) ,June 2018. First time in bus.class. Great experience- esp. Dusseldorf – Abu-Dhabi with wonderful service though Abu Dhabi to Singapore was more impersonal. I asked about the possibility for the menu veg.option as I could see the pre-ordered meal was the same as the last flight. The hostess said no, rather abruptly. I was taken aback considering my last flight experience. She must have realised how she came across to me because she later came with BOTH options (I could only eat one :-/ saving space for the red-velvet cake :-). However I appreciated her efforts. My main complain is that Ethiad doesn’t give free wifi to business class passengers- you have to pay!?! Kind of weird from my perspective. TripAdvisor is fine when you need opening hours or an address, but when it comes to reviews I ignore it completely. People always leave a negative review when something bad happens but rarely leave a positive review when something good happens so the reviews tend to be skewed. On top of that, it’s very easy to create fake reviews and make a place seem better than it is. Many hotels and restaurants hire firms to artificially inflate their reviews on the platform. Additionally, TripAdvisor has been known to take down reviews that are overly negative as well reviews on sexual assualt. Use TripAdvisor with caution. Or better yet, don’t use it at all.
If you're going to be traveling routinely, it's worth buying duplicates of key items and leaving them in your travel bag, versus remembering to repack them after using them at home. For me, this is things like laptop and phone chargers, toothbrushes, and basic toiletries. I rarely forget these necessities since I have a travel set that's always in my suitcase or laptop bag. Thanks for sharing the link, Hayley! I’ll check it out. The flights I buy are usually super-cheap, though, so I don’t feel as though I’m spending a ton of money on them as it is. As an example, this year, I’ve flown Lisbon to Cape Town for $250 return, Copenhagen to Los angeles for $100 one-way, and Rome to Tokyo for $200 return. So I’m not like, oh man, I really wish I wasn’t spending this much money on flights. But as I said, will check it out nonetheless!
Tissue Paper: For delicate items, one of our favorite packing tips is to use tissue paper. Lay the item face down and place tissue paper on top. Fold it up with the tissue paper inside. Use additional layers of paper as you fold the garment so it is completely wrapped in and around paper. This is easy enough the first time you pack, but becomes a pain if you have to keep repacking. We only use this approach for evening clothes that we don’t want to crush. Save time packing by keeping a carry-on suitcase packed with the minimal amount of clothing, shoes and accessories you need, including 3-ounce toiletries in a Ziploc bag. Trade bulky laptops for thinner laptops and tablets such as a MacBook Air or an iPad. Replace hardcovers with eBooks. If you must bring a coat or bulky shoes, wear them on the plane to avoid taking up space in your luggage.
"Choosing thin clothing that packs flat over thicker, more bulky items makes a huge difference in how much you can fit in your suitcase," says Susan Foster, author of Smart Packing for Today's Traveler. Instead of packing a heavy sweater and jeans, try more travel-friendly options like a micro-fleece pullover and pants in lightweight, weather-resistant fabric. Diana Lane, an associate with Geiger & Associates, a Florida-based destination marketing firm, loves the versatility of lightweight sarongs, which can be worn as skirts, various styles of dresses, shawls, swimsuit coverups, shoulder bags or even used as a blanket. "There aren't many items that give us quite this much bang for the buck," she says.
If you have lots of different types of activities you plan to do, that means you have a fair amount of gear you need to pack into your suitcase. Keeping everything organized can be a challenge. One of the best things you can do when you're packing for any trip, especially one that requires you to pack lots of layers, is to make sure you use packing organizers.
This is an amazing article. I use to travel a lot for my business meetings. I use to stick with same schedule each time. Not planning for some really interesting things to see around. But after reading your article, I am really interested to change my complete schedule to spend some extra time looking around for some interesting local site seeing and food.
Usually, just having a smile seems to get me what I want. I always ask when I check in however, if there is an upgrade available, if they give extra points for anything, and what specials might be available. Just last night (although at a stage theater) I asked if I could upgrade my row. Although they don't do exchanges, they made an exception and upgraded me 8 rows.
If you're going to be traveling routinely, it's worth buying duplicates of key items and leaving them in your travel bag, versus remembering to repack them after using them at home. For me, this is things like laptop and phone chargers, toothbrushes, and basic toiletries. I rarely forget these necessities since I have a travel set that's always in my suitcase or laptop bag. Step 1: Gather all the garments you anticipate needing. Then put half of them back. Select clothes in the same color family, packing more tops than bottoms. For a five-day trip, you’ll likely need five shirts, two pairs of slacks or jeans, and one skirt, says Kathleen Ameche, author of The Woman Road Warrior ($15, amazon.com). The average 22-inch check-in bag fits roughly two pairs of jeans, three sweaters, two dresses, and five shirts.
This is the best way to build your travel confidence and is especially easy in Southeast Asia. There are many benefits to it, too: you’ll get to discover cool places that aren’t listed online or in the guidebooks, you’ll be able to look at the rooms before you commit to staying, you can negotiate on price, and you’re not tied to a specific schedule where you need to be somewhere because you’ve booked your accommodation already.

Our company is really focused on growth and has to be frugal with all expenses. This is especially important with business travel. I maximize our rewards points earned from AMEX and Capital One credit cards to cover the costs of all our company’s business travel costs. Using Capital One points allows you to book Delta flights and still earn SkyMiles that can be used for future travel. It’s the most powerful travel savings combination possible. As a matter of fact, I am currently in Guangzhao, China, meeting with suppliers, and all my flights and hotels were paid for with rewards points.

Get ready to roll. With its mild climate, outstanding highway system, and nonstop-gorgeous scenery, California stands out as the perfect place for a road trip. And renting a car is about as easy as it gets. Whether your trip itinerary is a statewide tour of California’s greatest hits, a all-in-the-family visit to iconic theme parks, or an off-the-beaten-track adventure, there’s a vehicle to match your mood and style—snazzy convertibles, family-friendly vans, rugged models that can handle all types of conditions (even snow), even campers and Rvs, all in excellent shape and with good road assistance and optional insurance policies.
When I travel, I am often invited to stay with a local contact. I almost always accept the invitation. Staying in someone's home provides an opportunity to get to know them on a much more intimate personal level. Either I get a home-cooked meal or we eat at the best local restaurants. The closer connection allows for a deeper, more enduring relationship...or pretty fast clarity that it isn't a good match. In any case, it adds an interesting angle to the trip. (The photo is from a recent business trip.)
Technology affords us the opportunity to work wherever we are. Take advantage of these opportunities to get to know other business travelers' needs and find ways to serve their business. Wi-Fi enables you to be easily connected, so there is no need for a delay of task completion. Display your web page and view others. Show interest in what they do and what they have to offer, and don't forget to leave them with your card! You never know when one chance encounter may lead to a big break. In addition to pulling down the germ-ridden bedspread (such bedding only may get washed every few months), take a moment to peel back the sheets and inspect your mattress for little reddish-brown spots — evidence of bedbugs. Because bedbugs are attracted to heat, aim a hairdryer at the mattress to draw any of those little buggers who’ve burrowed themselves deep.
Of course, things like your company’s travel policy, how often you travel, and the purpose and destination of your trips have a lot to do with how much you enjoy your life as a business traveler, but most of these are aspects that employees have little control over. What is in the hands of the business traveler, however, is strategy. Having the right strategies to approach the many steps of a business trip can truly make all the difference to an otherwise physically and emotionally weary business traveler.
Asking is the quickest way to get a discount but it’s also the quickest possible way to piss off an Airbnb host. This is what differentiates the pros from the newbies. My general policy as a host — which I’ve been doing since 2011 — is to turn away hagglers because it signals a problem guest. It’s still possible, though, to get a confirmed booking and save some money without irritating a host so much they end up declining a guest’s inquiry outright. The trick is learning how to do it delicately. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a well-packed carry-on. At least it should… if you want your trip to go smoothly from the get-go. Whether you're travelling for business or pleasure, the proper luggage allows you to pack all the things you need and organize them efficiently. If you plan ahead and anticipate your needs during your travels, you can best choose both the type and amount of clothing, personal care products and other items you'll require. The temptation to over pack is always there, but beware that those extra shoes, bottles of lotion and electronic toys could cost you a bundle in excess baggage fees.
The first time we used this business class travel perk was when flying Etihad business class from Dublin. We were visiting family in Limerick and took the bus from Limerick to Dublin. The bus drops off at the Red Cow stop, where we spent the night before our business class flight at the Ibis Dublin. The hotel is on an express bus line that costs €5 per person and takes about 15 minutes. We would need to walk about 7 minutes across the highway overpass, but it is really not that bad of a journey.

You need insurance. Even if you're just planning to lie around in a resort for a week. If you're in an accident, or you get sick, or your bags go missing, or any one of a million other mishaps occur while you're travelling, you'll be extremely pleased you spent that small amount on an insurance policy. (Read: The insurance mistake travellers keep making)

Good news, globetrotters: Traveling a ton doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether you’re wondering how to pack efficiently, find the cheapest flight or score major hotel deals, you’ll love this ultimate travel hack list for explorers. Say sayonara to those pre-travel jitters, because your jet-setting ways just got way easier. You can thank us later.